


Start From Scratch

by AvatarAbby



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Crimson Waste, F/F, Family History, Friendship, Gen, Kingdom History, Rebuilding, The Fright Zone (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarAbby/pseuds/AvatarAbby
Summary: Scorpia goes on a trip to the Fright Zone with the Alliance and learns a little bit about her Kingdom’s past.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	Start From Scratch

“I hope you both know you don’t have to come with me,” Scorpia said as she closed up her bag. “You guys had a lot of traumatic experiences in the Fright Zone. I’d completely understand if you wanted to sit this mission out.”  
Adora put her own bag across her shoulders. “Don’t worry Scorpia, we are fine. Catra and I had a long talk about it and we decided that we want to help rebuild your kingdom. Replace the bad memories of that location with good ones. If either of us had any objection to going, we would have said so.”  
The princess sighed with relief, “okay, as long as you are both sure. I didn’t want to pressure you guys, but I’m really glad you’re going with us. The other princesses in the alliance try, but they don’t really understand what it was like growing up in the Horde.”  
“Yeah, I get that.”  
“The skiff is loaded up and the other princesses are starting to arrive,” Catra said as she walked into the room. “You guys just about ready to head out?”  
“We’re right behind you.”  
A short time later, all the princesses of Etheria were heading to the Fright Zone. They took the ride as an opportunity to catch up with each other and the state of their kingdoms. The people of the planet seemed to be adjusting to the new changes that had occurred during the war with Prime. They were bonding with the new magical creatures that had come out of hiding and naming constellations in the stars to help guide humans on their journeys.  
When the crew finally reached their destination, everyone looked to Scorpia for instructions on what to do next.  
“Well,” the princess started, obviously nervous, “I think the first thing to do is assess the structural integrity of the buildings here. That way we know what we have to tear down and what we can repurpose. Meanwhile, Entrapta is going to see if she can access the Fright Zone database and see what my family’s kingdom looked like before it was taken over. I’m hoping that’ll give me guidance on what to do with this place next.”  
“Did Hordak not tell you anything about what the kingdom was like when he invaded?”   
Mermista’s question was not all that surprising, as she, like many of the princesses, still didn’t trust the man. Even though he claimed to have changed, he was being kept in a prison on Mystacor as punishment for his crimes against Etheria and the assurance that he would never again commit such violent acts.  
“He said that he didn’t really know much,” Scorpia explained, “that he didn’t really bother to know the customs and names of the things when he was going to end up destroying them.”  
Catra groaned, “once again, Hordak is of no use to anyone.”  
“It doesn’t matter,” Entrapta added. “Even if Hordak can’t remember, the Horde keeps meticulous records of all it’s attempts at take-overs, so they can use it as a reference for what to do next time. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did that even back then. At the very least, we should be able to learn the basics of Scorpia’s kingdom.”  
“All right then,” Adora said, “let’s spread out so we can cover more ground.”  
As everyone was being given an area of the Fright Zone to inspect, Catra noticed that Scorpia was looking a little distant, as if she didn’t quite want to be here. Once everyone started to disperse, Catra turned to her girlfriend and said, “you go on ahead. Me and Scorpia are going to check out the force captain barracks.”  
Understanding what she was getting at, the blonde nodded and walked off to have a look at the training simulation rooms.  
Now that they were alone, the part-feline walked up to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, sorry if you felt that Adora was taking over back there. She just wants to help.”  
“It’s not that. I actually kind of appreciated it.”  
“Then why are you upset?”  
The princess sighed, “it’s just harder than I thought, being back here. When I was in a part of the Horde, I always believed that my family willingly gave up their kingdom and princess because they felt it was the right thing to do. But the farther I get away from that life, the farther that seems from the truth. And I’m scared about what I might find.”  
“Scorpia, we don’t have to know about what your kingdom was like in the past in order to prepare it for the future. If you think that those reports won’t help you heal, then don’t look at them.”  
“But I have a duty to the people in this place to better their lives.”  
“And how you do that is your choice. Not your parents, not your grandparents, you. So you can do it however you want. There’s nothing wrong with starting from scratch.”  
When the girl remained silent, the other said, “just something to think about. Come on, let’s take a look at the barracks.”  
The two of them walked the section together. They noticing a few beams that needed replacing, but nothing else seemed beyond a simple repair.  
“It feels weird being back in this area, doesn’t it?”  
The former Horde leader nodded. “I never really considered this my home. I didn’t even have personal affects in my room besides my clothes. But this place still manages to stir up a whole lot of memories.”  
The white-haired girl looked over at her friend. “Would it be okay if we went by my old room? There’s something I left behind that I want to get.”  
“Let’s do it. We are supposed to be walking this area anyway.”  
The room was now filled with cobwebs and dust due to months of it being untouched. Scorpia immediately went to the nightstand and picked up a picture frame.  
Catra had never really looked at the picture before. In it where to women with traits remarkably similar to Scorpia, holding a baby that was obviously her in their arms. “Are those your parents?”  
“Yeah, my moms. I never really met them. They died when I was really young, same with my grandfather. Everything I know is what the Horde told me. When I left the Fright Zone, I left this photo behind, thinking if I didn’t physically carry them with me, I wouldn’t mentally. But it didn’t work like I had hoped it would. I still think about them a lot. What where their names, what kind of people were they, did they have any siblings...are they proud of me?”  
“Scorpia, any parent would be lucky to have you as a child. You have been through so much and have only come out stronger. You are compassionate and brave and an excellent fighter. You helped save the universe. I think, wherever they are, they’d be so proud of all you’ve accomplished.”  
The women ran one of her claws along the frame. “I think you were right before, Catra. I don’t have to look at my family’s past for my kingdom to heal. But I do have to look at it for me to heal. I have to know at least how it all ended. Even if it’s not something I want to here, even if it hurts. I can’t keep on wondering.”  
“Then we will look at those files. And if they don’t give us all the information that you need, then we will keep looking. Whatever it takes to give you answers.”  
The part-feline found herself swooped up in a bear hug because of her words, one which she happily returned.   
A few seconds into it, however, the two heard someone running down the hallway towards them. Suddenly, Adora rushed into the room, doubling over due to being out of breathe.  
“Guys, Entrapta found something.”  
————————————————————  
“Entrapta,” Catra said as she entered the Fright Zone server room where the Princess Alliance had gathered with Adora and Scorpia, “you have something?”  
“Yes,” she said excitedly as her hair continued typing into the computer. “I was going through the database from around the time Hordak gained control of the Black Garnet. It was difficult, as we don’t know what the kingdom was called back then but after entering a few key words I stumbled a cross the file that I’m positive is this place. Let me show you.”  
Suddenly, the screens filled with all kinds of information, from the royal family portraits and their life story, to a picture of the old palace, to what appeared to be a map of the kingdom.  
“Wait,” Scorpia said, squinting at the map, “that area looks bigger than the Fright Zone.”  
“That!” Catra pointed her index finger at the upper part of the screen. “That’s the Crimson Waste!”  
Adora studied the illustration and tilted her head. “So, the Fright Zone and the Crimson Waste use to be one kingdom?”  
“Precisely,” Entrapta said, “the kingdom of Orion. When the Horde took over, they found the harsh ecosystem of the desert to be lacking in the resources they needed, so they didn’t bother trying to claim the territory, dividing them into two separate places.”  
“I mean, it sort of makes sense,” the part-feline reasoned as she turned to Scorpia, “you told me when we were sent there that your exoskeleton loved the climate it had.”  
The princess blinked, taking in all the information. “What about my family?”  
“They came to power by rising through the army ranks. War wasn’t all that common on Etheria back then, but Orion believed in having a strong military presence even in times of peace. Your grandfather, king Marus, became ruler by being named the successor when the bloodline of the original royal family ended.”  
Frosta spoke next. “But if they had such a strong military, how did the Horde beat them?”  
The purple-haired princess looked down, disappointed in her findings. “They killed him and forced his daughter, Claudette, to give up the Black Garnet after he refused to. With their leader and runestone gone, everything went into complete chaos. Most citizens ended up either pledging their allegiance to the Horde or running away to another kingdom. Your mothers died when they both caught an illness that spread through the prison they were being held at. You were kept you alive just in case they ever needed to control the Black Garnet.”  
“So I guess my grandfather did stay loyal until the end, just not to who I thought.”  
“There are some notes about certain celebrations the people of Orion took part in, most of them for militia accomplishments and such. I could pull them up if you want.”  
Scorpia smiled sadly, “no, that’s okay. Maybe back then being centered around a strong defense was what was needed, but my people can’t live like that anymore. I’ll keep the name, but that’s it. I’m going to have to start from scratch, but maybe that’s what we all need to do right now. Thank you, Entrapta, for showing this to me. And thank you all for coming.”  
“You’re going to be a great princess, Scorpia,” Catra said, smiling at her friend, “and I’m proud of you.”  
Scorpia smiled genuinely. While she had hoped that she could’ve just picked up where her kingdom left off, she felt she had stumbled upon something even better. A chance for the people in the former Fright Zone to decide what they wanted their life to look like. A world where they weren’t holding onto the past, but making way for a brighter future.  
She couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the first time I’ve gone as far as to make guesses about what a whole kingdom was like, so I hoped I did okay for a first attempt. I used a little bit of the storyline from the original She-ra, but a lot of it was just me thinking “Hey, this idea doesn’t suck too bad, into the story you go.” Comments/Kudos always appreciated, as well as any other prompts for She-ra you guys would want me to do.


End file.
